MOTORS: This car gets my very big Seal of approval
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When I was a wee laddie running round in my short breeks, anything bearing the label “Made in China” meant it was cheap and unlikely to last longer than a couple of weeks.
Fast forward many decades and that perception is history with manufacturing giants in that vast country producing most of our electronic equipment and the batteries to power them.
Leading the revolution is BYD, a company you’ve probably never heard of, but you will.
It is huge, with 600,000 employees in six continents, 90,000 of whom are engineers. For 28 years it has been producing batteries which power one in five of the world’s mobile phones and more than half of all iPads.
Transport is a huge part of its empire mastering advanced technologies in electric motors, electronic control systems and semiconductors for buses, lorries, trains – and cars.
It is the only business to design and make in-house the core components of the electric car including its innovative, super-strong, sustainable and highly-efficient cobalt-free Blade battery which powers its range of cars.
Globally it has become the fourth largest car brand building almost two million EVs in the first eight months of this year alone.
Earlier this year it burst into the UK with its Atto 3 compact SUV, followed by the Dolphin hatchback and now its flagship Seal sports saloon, aimed directly at the market-leading Tesla and similar performance electric models from Hyundai, Kia and BMW.
BYD – which stands for Build Your Dreams – calls this the “next generation” of electric vehicle.
It is sophisticated and mature, comprehensively-equipped, super-efficient, well put-together and a great performer on the road to delight any enthusiastic driver.
It has a premium price – the two-wheel-drive Design version is almost £46,000 – but you get an awful lot for your money. For an extra £3000 the all-wheel-drive Excellence model has almost double the power at 523 bhp and breathtaking performance taking it from a standing start to 62mph in just 3.8 seconds.
I clocked up a few miles in it around the leaf-strewn, windswept and winding wet roads of the Lake District and it felt totally secure and sure-footed, regardless of the slipperiness of the surface. Like all EVs the power is instant and seamless.
If that was good, the next part of my day trip with the Seal was stunning.
BYD had taken over the test track at the Cumbrian HQ of world-renowned rally specialists M-Sport to show off the car’s true performance off the public road.
The track was wet but at full pelt, including a foot-to-the-floor standing start, the car was rock solid and felt as though it was enjoying the experience as much as me.
Apart from its sportiness, the Seal looks great with flowing lines and easy-on-the-eye styling. It sits on the same platform as its brothers but with a bigger battery which should give a range of more than 300 miles, depending on how hard you push the right-hand pedal.
The interior is plush, superbly comfortable with quilted leather seats and it’s spacious, helped by the narrow central tunnel for the driver and front passenger and the flat rear floor gives plenty of room in the back too.
The full-size panoramic glass sunroof adds to the feeling of airiness and double-layered glass in the front doors reduces road noise and improves insulation.
There’s also BYD’s signature rotating 15-inch central display so you can alter the perspective to suit info or satnav but I was surprised at the absence of paddles to adjust the level of regenerative braking.
The boot opening is quite narrow and the boot itself isn’t huge but there’s extra storage under the bonnet for charging cables. It can be fast-charged to 80 per cent up to 150kW in just 26 minutes.
My only minor niggle was that the A-pillar and roof feels low and with the seat in anything other than low position, it felt awkward to get in and out. Otherwise, the car gets my very big Seal of approval.
KEY FACTS:
BYD Seal Excellence AWD
ENGINE: dual electric motor with 82.5kWh Blade Battery
PRICE: £48,695
POWER: 523 bhp
TOP SPEED: 112mph
0-62mph: 3.8 secs
RANGE: 323 miles
